The show doesn't officially start until March 2, 2009, but that hasn't stopped them from putting out early "content".

There's a daily Vlog.

NBC page: http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/
Hulu version: http://www.hulu.com/late-night-with-jimmy-fallon

The house band is the hip hop band, The Roots. Which is actually kind of cool.

Studio 6B is right across from Conan's 6A. Milton Berle, Jack Paar and Johnny Carson all had shows out of it. In recent decades, the local NBC affiliates news has been done out of it (something we've actually often seen, when first Dave Letterman, and then later Conan, would walk across the hall and disturb local Anchor Sue Simmons while she was on the air).

Having been to 6A, I know its minuscule. It leaves me wondering about the size of 6B--which I've walked by but never really got inside of.

It's the same size. All the studios at 30 Rock, with the exception of 8H - SNL's studio - which takes up two floors, and perhaps the news studios, are virtually the same size as 6A. Although 6A is the former studio for WNBC news Live At Five.

Actually, isn't 6B the ex-Live at Five?

As for them all being the same size? I guess they could be. I DO recall thinking that the studio that Rosie O'Donnell used to be in looked bigger though, especially when compared to Late Night's studio.

I notice that NBC.com has been advertising the show, and Fallon's blog, prominently from their front page. But somehow I just don't FEEL the buzz yet. Even with his SNL past, I bet there's still a lot of "Jimmy Who?" out there, and I'll bet most people have NO idea he's taking over in 3 months.

I've watched a couple of the videos...Fallon's much better when he sits. If he's standing he waves his arms around and shifts his weight, which just looks like it makes him more nervous.

I'm wondering how much of the public is simply blurring the two Jimmys together in their minds, and thus totally ignoring Mr. Fallon.

Really, its rather ridiculous to have two people named Jimmy in the same late nite spot, competing against a Scotsman, for a mere sausage. If it wasn't real, who could invent a scenario like this?

Hey, look. NBC made a Countdown To Jimmy Widget nobody's going to use! I won't try and embed it here (yuck, yuck!), but if you REALLY want one, the code for it is on http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/ in the right hand column. I bet DOZENS of people worldwide have embedded it on THEIR webpages! Boo ya! Snicker.

Le bump. I hope he does well, though I'm not particularly invested in him doing so. Van Morrison is an interesting first musical guest.

As an owner of "The Bathroom Wall," I wonder if Jimmy will suck as much as some people expect him to suck. If it's that bad, it can only get better, right? Either way, Craig is ahead of Jimmy on my personal late night pecking order. That won't be changing any time soon. But I like Van Morrison, and I like Robert De Niro. (When you've got Lorne Michaels in your corner, you can get some top-notch guests, even as an untested newbie.) Plus, I want to see what some have suggested will be an immediate train wreck. Curiosity will get the better of my DVR on March 2nd. After that, it's back to the status quo.

I immediately always think Jimmy Fallon isn't funny but then I can't remember any of his jokes. I think it is just because I hated how he and Horatio Sans always laughed during sketches on SNL.

He's in an unfortunate situation. At least Conan started, no one knew him really, so there wasn't pre-existing idea of how he might do. Plus, I think having Andy really helped.

Sounds like Jimmy is on his own.

But people were so tough on Conan for the first year or two. I remember that there used to be articles on how he should be fired or replaced. He was lucky that NBC kept him on the air because he did get better over time and/or his humour grew on viewers.

I remember initially liking Jimmy Fallon on SNL, and then starting to dislike him for giggling at every single joke. But I'm definitely willing to give him a shot and see how he does. He may totally suck and get canned, but he deserves to get the chance to prove he can deliver.

Just wondering if Jimmy will resist the urge at the end of the show to say "Stay tuned for Carson Daily...he's an enormous tool!"



At least nobody played around with the idea of Horatio Sanz as his sidekick.

There's an article and a nice picture in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly that came out today.

I watched the webisode where he interviews Jack McBrayer about the Bobby Jindal resemblance. I was never a huge Fallon fan when he was on SNL (except for the "I wish it was Christmas today song"), but I might be tempted to watch him host. His tendency to crack up, which was annoying in the sketch comedy format of SNL, is sort of endearing in the context of a late night host. Plus he always seemed like a total slacker on SNL, and he really does actually seem to be *working* at doing a good job on Late Night, so that's changed my impression of him for the better.

I'm going to give him a shot too. I never thought I would be such a big fan of Jimmy Kimmel but it happened. I also remember thinking when I heard Craig ferguson got his own talk show "That's weird". I didn't have a bad opinion of him it just seemed a little random to me and he's awesome. I think the format either works for you or it doesn't. I don't think they will give him 2 years to find his legs though like they did for Conan.

I saw one of the rehearsal shows a week+ ago... I was set to hate him (the SNL laughing thing drove me insane) but he had his moments. I will reserve judgement for now because I don't think his writers were trying particularly hard since it was just a rehearsal.

Jimmy Fallon as host = Immediate Fail.

I don't see that he has the interview skills to pull off this big show. By himself? No way. He just isn't talented enough to handle it.

ITA about how he couldn't get through any SNL sketches without busting up. Very unprofessional, and very unfunny.

I will watch the first week to see this ship sink fast. It's historical, after all.

Fallon's thing is to be as interactive as possible. He's on Facebook, he has a blog, he does Twitter, but will it all work?

Is interactivity entertaining?

I've been following his blog for the past few months, but maybe not anymore.

He hired a team of 3 bloggers to document "the best of the web."

But I already go to 5 million blogs that tell me the best of the web...

Carson, Leno, Letterman, Ferguson, and Conan all succeed because they interact with the audience. In studio, and at home. This is where Fallon needs to concentrate.

If he hires bloggers, and he just reads blogs, but doesn't focus on real live people, he's done. That's what I think.

I guess tonight, we'll see? I hope I'm wrong. But I still smell fail.

Jimmy Fallon = not funny.

I'm gonna give him a shot, the dvr is set. We'll see how he does.

Fallon's not the guy I would have picked, but he at least deserves a few months to figure out what does and doesn't work. It is pretty jarring though transitioning from media interviews with Conan which are usually a running dialogue with himself cracking jokes to Fallon, who seems very sedate.

I had an opportunity to be in today's studio audience. (I went to Regis & Kelly this morning, and met up with some nice out-of-towners who offered me an extra ticket to Jimmy Fallon).

Because the show hasn't aired, I don't want to comment on specifics in too much detail, so I will try to talk about some 'behind the scenes' things. The warm-up comedian was great, the house band, Roots, was awesome, and Conan did a pre-taped appearance at the beginning of the show. The show itself was pretty good. Now, understand this is seeing it live, for free, so I'm a bit biased. I'm not sure how it will translate in TV land... I'll have to wait a few more hours to see. I'm an enormous Conan fan, so I would have to say there was no comparison.

One pretty funny thing was a 'space' skit between Jimmy/Robert.... I don't know if it will come across this way when it airs, but the acting was in 'real time'... that skit wasn't pre-taped, in other words. Jimmy/Robert dressed/undressed in the suits while the pre/postamble to the skit ran. (I'm not sure if that makes sense?). The DeNiro interview was awkward, typical DeNiro, but the Timberlake one was definitely on. Van Morrison was great - I've listened to his music forever - but wow, he's a small man!

During the show, Fallon had his iPhone close to him at all times, appearing to text / twitter? during commercial breaks, and even during the Van Morrison performance. At the end of the show, Fallon did a 'lap' up, around, and back down the studio audience shaking hands and high-fiving..... which was cool, because the studio was completely packed, with a dozen or so people even standing at the back.

Oh - and the studio was quite nice and intimate, it held I'm guessing 300-400 people? However, it was FRIGID!!!! If you're going to a taping, make sure you bring a sweater!

I am biased toward the announcer because he was in an episode of my all-time favorite show, "Freaks and Geeks."

The show was really hit or miss. The DeNiro stuff was awful as expected. The monologue was mostly decent. The game was crap. Timberlake was fun. The Roots were pretty awesome. And I love Conan so the opening was my favorite part.

Just an FYI...

Yeah, the first show sucked, but I remember critics killing Kimmel's first show. And he's still around 7 Super Bowls later.

But can Fallon succeed in a 24/7 Internet opionated world? I was following 40 pages of instantaneous reaction on Twitter, and there was hardly any praise.

BTW, Robert De Niro did the same Jimmy Fallon impression on Weekend Update in 2000.

Flop sweat much? I noticed they had to mop Jimmy's brow after the first DeNiro segment.

Jimmy was pretty awkward but I will probably tune in until Conan's show starts--then I will reward myself with an extra hour of sleep each night!

Starting off badly and only getting worse, this was absolutely painful to watch. You'd think Jimmy Fallon had never been on TV before from how nervous he was. I was cringing so hard during the Deniro interview that I think I pulled something, especially when Fallon tried to get Deniro to help him set up the awful unfunny Space Train skit and Deniro wasn't even interested in playing along (or even making eye contact). Slowjam the news? Lick a lawnmower and win ten dollars? This was so anti-funny it was almost surreal. Just an awkward, embarrassing mess all around.

I made myself watch the entire episode for historical purposes, as I want to be fully informed for the inevitable media shitstorm we're going to see over this tomorrow. But I don't see any reason to subject myself to one more minute of Amateur Hour with Jimmy Fallon.

I can tell you, communicating directly to the audience is something Jimmy's doing very right. He had a daily video blog for months leading up to the show, where he detailed behind-the-scenes stuff and took viewer questions on Fridays. He even had a post where he did a video chat with a viewer. And I know he uses Twitter a lot to communicate with fans.

Anyway, I thought the show tonight was pretty good. Loving the amount of Roots, and the Timberlake interview was great.

I wanted him to do really well on his first show but wow he was so nervous. I hope he gets over the jitters soon otherwise things will go south pretty quickly.

Scottus0, what I meant by interacting with people, live? I meant on the stage, in the audience - not online. Yes, online stuff can be part of his act. But on a regular basis, the man needs to be involved with in studio people. He did this tonight, but he was nervous (who wouldn't be?) So I'm cutting him some slack.

That said, I think a DeNiro interview on the first night was daunting. The guy is a known tough guest anyway. Why on earth DeNiro does chat shows at all is beyond me; he obviously hates it so much. Which makes for a poor show.

I'll try Jimmy again on another night this week. All-in-all, he did fine for being so rattled. And he had right to be with such big shoes to fill.

I didn't like the 'Lick for $10' game. Hopefully that isn't a regular thing. As others have said, DeNiro was awkward, but I wasn't expecting much. And while JT was entertaining, it was NOT an interview. I felt like I was watching two friends laughing and hanging out with each other. "Oh remember when we did this? And we usually do this. HAHAHA." But I'll keep watching a few more shows.

I thought it was pretty decent for a first time show. Some of the jokes were pretty good, and like others have said, his band, “Roots” did a good job.



I was wondering if those were real products that the audience members were licking, like the lawnmower. That would be the ultimate in product placement, having real things being wheeled out for people to lick in slow motion for 10 dollars. I was waiting for a Ford Fusion to be driven onto the stage for someone to lick the sticker on the window and declare that it’s tasty and gets good gas mileage, too.

I thought Justin Timberlake was a great guest, and I loved his impressions. Van Morrison, the musical guest, is someone that I haven't seen for years, and while I like his band, I didn't appreciate the slurred vocals, which reminded me a bad Bob Dylan impression.

All in all, I thought that was fairly good start, even though I don’t intend to watch this in the long run instead of Craig.

I'll chalk the first episode up to nerves. He needs to slow down and let his guests talk. I thought DeNiro was pretty hilarious. Maybe they should have given him a shot at the desk!

Lick it for $10 was a flop. I think it was kind of like Will it Float without a Letterman-like reputation to back it.

Neither did I. It was gross, lame, and worst of all, unfunny.

You know how at the very beginning when Jimmy came out and some man yelled and he said something to the effect of "Security, please escort that man out.....I hate it when my dad drinks." Does anyone remember Jimmy making that exact same joke on an episode of SNL during Weekend Update?????

Other than that, I actually think he did a fairly good job considering it was the first episode. I sure hope they bring back "Slowjamming the News" (or at least similar segments which make good use of The Roots)

Yes, he definitely did make the same joke to a heckler on SNL.

I actually think the SNL influence was a bit too heavy, and it was my biggest problem with the show. Maybe that had a lot to do with Justin Timberlake being a guest, and the two of them having a history from doing SNL together so many times. But that awful Robert De Niro "Space Train" bit was just a shortened SNL sketch. And it was about as funny as any of Jimmy's SNL sketches.

I think the audience games are supposed to be a pretty regular occurrence (though not necessarily the same Lick It for $10 game). It seems kind of lazy for a late night show like this, but maybe it will work.

I'll probably watch through the rest of the week, but I mostly think Jimmy is a hack so I can't fathom being a faithful viewer.

Guys, this was his first show. And I think it's common knowledge that Conan O'Brien absolutely sucked the first year or two on Late Night. For every "If They Mated" they stumbled upon, they then insisted the musical guest play in front of a backdrop of giant falling leaves or something. They were trying to see what works without losing what they believed to be their comedic forte in the process. And Fallon deserves at least as much slack to do the same.

That said, unfunny start. He looked nervous as hell out there, and so far I don't know if cracking political jokes in a monologue is his strong point. DeNiro looked uncomfortable, but he wanted to be there, otherwise why help out Fallon by being his first-ever guest? Get Timberlake and just switch it on autopilot. Glad Van Morrison is still alive. That "Lick It For $10" blew, and the "Target Demographic" bit had very good production values but was slow in developing into a so-so payoff. But again, I will give him a shot.

Roots is great, but why are they stuck as a house band? Don't they have creating to do? And were there more musicians on the walkway above them? What a weird place to put the rest of the band.

In fact, the whole studio seemed small. Very compact, seemingly tinier than Studio 6A, and more long than wide. Studios seem much larger on TV than they actually are, so that studio has to be the size of my room.

Three or four hundred audience members? Didn't Conan have an audience of 200 only?

For a split second I thought I was watching The Price is Right. And like the aforementioned game show, it was mind-numbingly dull. More importantly, it wasn't funny.

Did you notice the pencil tapping? He would always tap his pencil on the desk when he was anchoring Weekend Update. It drove me nuts then, and it drives me nuts now. Petty, but something I've always found very distracting. Now if he starts throwing the pencil at the camera....

I recorded tonight's show mostly for the sake of posterity. It was, after all, the first show, but if Jimmy continues to be as stiff as he was tonight, there will be few opportunities to record the show again. (A bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point.) I imagine he will loosen up over time and eventually find some type of groove, but the snippets I saw tonight were painful to watch. The monologue felt incredibly forced. When it's obvious that you're merely reading through your list of jokes, the flow is ruined and it tends to kill the funny. Plus, the interview with DeNiro was excruciating. Really, I had to turn the channel. It was that bad. But the only way to go is up, right? Unless Jimmy is trying to limbo and go as low as he can go...either way, I won't be a regular viewer. but I'll check in from time to time to see if he has improved.

But Van Morrison was awesome as always. For me, it was the best part of the show.

Thought it was decent for a premiere. I expected him to be nervous, so I wasn't surprised that he was. The lick for $10 was ridiculous and whoever thought DeNiro would be a good first guest should get the boot. I wouldn't expect him to help a new host through an interview and he didn't. The announcer doesn't have an announcer voice and that might be a problem if they use him much. Hopefully they will show some other aspect of him that will make me like him more, like a sketch. As is, I kept thinking, wow, he's no Alan Kalter.

The best part of the show was Justin, IMO he saved the show, and it wasn't just him, it was him and him with Jimmy, he loosened him up, made him less nervous. Now here's a premiere guest, friends or friendly with Jimmy, likable, kept things light, helped keep things moving, interacted well with Jimmy, all things you'd want to get through what is bound to be a nerve filled hour. I think Tina Fey and Justin Timberlake would have been a better 1-2 on the premiere. Loved the Roots, I haven't followed much of the build up Fallon's late night, so I didn't know they were the house band. The Roots have always been a favorite, so its a huge plus and they were great as usual. The Conan piece was very cute as well, but I expect nothing less from Conan.

It just seemed way too overproduced. I agree that Conan wasn't so great his first couple of years, but at least it had a "under-produced, we're on a $20 budget" feel to it. This one just feels to slick, as if saying "We're professionals who know how to make you laugh!".

Conan was a complete unknown with little on screen experience. Fallon has had how many years at live tv? Sorry but he should be a little more polished.

But interview skills aren't needed in Late Night as seen by watching Leno.

Instead of being new and cool and appealing to the younger late-late night viewers, it actually struck me as VERY old-fashioned like old non-classic Carson, starting with that awful set. Having an old-school CURTAIN behind Fallon only served to highlight the C-level monologue (the Microsoft joke was funny, I'll give that.) Forty year old suit and hair (meaning forty years old, not a forty-year old person.) The heckler responses were from a 'how to be a comic 101' book. The Roots are wonderful but totally out of place here and by that I mean they were great. 'Slowjamming' was cute but done better by Jon Stewart. Timberlake should have taken over the show; comfortable, funny, interesting and engaging (I'm not a fan of his music but am always impressed by him otherwise.) DeNiro? Again, out of place; always a tricky interview always and not the best choice for a first episode. 'Lick it' - not funny (maybe if one is high, which I wasn't.)

Fallon = The Chevy Chase show, at least his "Episode One." Unfortunate that NBC couldn't hire Craig Ferguson away from CBS.

"Guys, this was his first show."

And some of us can't figure out why he ever got a show to begin with. He's epically untalented. I refused to watch last night. However, I will check in just to see Tina Tues. (Hint, Jimmy: Shut up and let her do all the talking.)

But as for predictions of a quick demise to the show - that's too much to ask for. This is, after all, NBC.

I remember the announcer guy from SNL when JT was host and he sang to him and he wanted him to autograph his chest and JT said "I don't sign dudes breasts".

I so wanted to love this! I know it's his first show but I expected so much more! I figured the "Lick it for $10" would end up with the last one having to lick something disgusting, not that would have made that funnier.

I cracked up when Jimmy was bragging to Conan about his great guest line up for this week and he asked who he had for next week and Jimmy said "Jervis from Survivor 1 and Right said Fred". Sad thing is at this rate he's probably not far off!

Jimmy did well in the ratings last night, although I'd chalk it up to curiosity. Things will even out over the next few weeks:

Man, it was weird when the familiar Conan theme did not start after Leno last night. Fallon does have big shoes to fill, but I agree with the poster who noted that Conan was an unknown when he started on Late Night and that Fallon has too much live television experience to suck this much. He was not funny, too stiff, and the components of the show just did not jive. I fought the urge to turn it off after the monologue. I won't be watching, just waiting for Conan to take over the Tonight Show.

I did not watch this show, but gave it a chance with the online clips, and it was lame.

Was Conan the greatest when he first started? No, but he came armed with more talent and better bits, and had never performed on television before. Fallon's been performing for years. SNL. Stand-up. He even guest hosted for David Letterman once (and it was bad).

That said, Fallon will grow into it and develop an audience, even if his show's not funny like Conan's or Letterman's. NBC spent a lot of money on him, therefore they will give him all the time and support in the world to succeed.

I wish this show would have been hosted by Amy Sedaris. Or anyone engaging to watch.

I agree. Maybe they're just trying to make the transition slowly or something, but right now it's just like any other show, which was dissapointing. Fallon just needs to relax and get comfortable.

I am no fan of Fallon, but people who say he should be used to live TV should remember he never carried an entire SNL. He was in skits with others and shared the WU desk with Fey before doing it on his own. 10 minutes is a lot shorter than 60.

Lorne Michaels once said about not to judge the first season of SNL by the first show, but use (I believe) the 14th one instead.

I want to see the Van Morrison clip. Oh, NBC.com!

The Roots wanted a regular, steady paying job for a while and I don't blame them. They are a great band and while I didn't necessarily think this was a good fit, I'm happy for them.

I found myself tuning out a lot last night so I will check out the online clips. I do agree though that Jimmy's going to need some time to get into a groove.

For me, the best part about checking out Fallon's show was seeing the pretty good show Carson Daly had right after him.
I would have never caught it otherwise.

I never thought I would say "thank goodness for timberlake"!